Patent GB-656277-A (GB)
Title: Wringers
IPC: D06F45/18
Filed: 1948-08-04
Abstract: 656,277. Wringers. LOVELL MANUFACTURING CO. Aug. 4, 1948, No. 20561. Convention date, Aug. 8, 1947. [Class 138 (ii)] In a swinging wringer having a safety release operated by movement of the wringer frame from a centred position, and an index lock positively restraining movement of the wringer head from any of a plurality of angular index positions, the index lock is biassed to the unlocked position and blocking means prevent unlocking of the index lock when the wringer frame is moved from its centred position. As shown in Fig. 1, the wringer frame is pivotally mounted on a head 1 by means of shoulder bolts 11, 12, the pivot axis of the frame extending substantially through the roll end of a roll drive coupling 14, so that when the roll is being driven it does not tend to pivot the frame about its mounting 11, 12. The coupling 14 is slotted at each end to receive tangs 15 on a roll drive shaft 16 and on a shaft 17 of a crown gear 19. The slotted ends have rounded drive faces (Fig. 5, not shown) to accommodate variations in angular alignment of the shafts 16 and 17. In Fig. 6 (not shown) a modified drive coupling is shown wherein a drive pin in the shaft 16 is received in the slotted end of the coupling. The hub of the crown gear 19 is journalled in a porous metal bearing 24 having grease receiving grooves 26 around its outer periphery. The back face of the crown gear wipes across eccentric grease feeding grooves 27 as shown in Fig. 7 so that when the crown gear rotates in either direction grease tends to be fed from the grooves 27 into the ends of the grooves 26 to replenish the lubricant for the bearing 24. The crown gear meshes continuously with drive pinions 28, 29 loose on a shaft 30, the lower end of which is slotted (at 31) to receive a drive shaft (not shown) extending up through the wringer post 32. A clutch collar 33 is splined on the shaft 30 and has a groove 34 receiving a bar 35 which may be shifted up and down by a pin 36 in an eccentric 37 (Fig. 2). The clutch 30 and drive pinions are provided with tapered driving teeth 38, the angle of which is chosen so that under all conditions the driving torque tends to move the clutch to the neutral position shown in Fig. 1. This prevents jamming engagement of the teeth which might prevent interruption of the drive under heavy load conditions. Projections 39 (Fig. 2) on a cover-plate 40 maintain the shifter bar 35 horizontal against the tilting action about pin 36 caused by the separating force between the teeth 38 in their engaged position and thus excessive pressure on the upper and lower surfaces of groove 34 is prevented. The clutch is controlled through a shaft 41 journalled in the cover-plate 40 and fixed at its ends to the eccentric 37 and a latch plate 42. The latch plate has a pin-and-slot connection 43 with a cam plate 44 fixed to a hub 45 journalled on a reduced portion 46 of shaft 41. A control handle 47 is fixed on the end of hub 45. The latch plate is held in the driving position by a pin 50 (Figs. 9, 13) carried by one arm of a bell-crank 51 pivoted at 52 on the end plate 40. In the driving positions the pin 50 engages either a surface 53 or a surface 54 on the latch plate, the angularity of these surfaces being such that the force exerted on the pin tends to move it inwardly along the surface 53 or 54. The latch pin 50 is biassed towards the surfaces 53, 54 by a spring 55 arranged between an ear 56 on lever 51 and a pin 57 on a bell-crank 58 pivoted at 59b on the cover-plate 40. Another bell-crank 58a pivoted at 52 is connected with bell-crank 58 by a tongue-and-slot connection 60 (Fig. 9) so that bell-cranks 58, 58a pivot together in opposite directions about their respective pivots. The spring 55 urges the bell-cranks 58, 58a against the outer faces of walls 61, 61a depending from a bracket 8 projecting from the wringer frame and therefore tends to centre the wringer frame with respect to the wringer head. A push or pull on the wringer frame causes it to pivot about the bolts 11, 12 and moves the bracket to one side of a centre position. If the movement is only slight the spring 55 restores the frame to the central position. Upon a greater pivotal movement of the frame, the arms 59, 59a of the bell-cranks are moved upwardly against a tab on latch lever 51 to start disengagement of latch pin 50 from latch surface 53 (or 54). The slight lost motion between the arms 59, 59a and this tab prevents starting of the latch release movement until there is more than a slight turning of the wringer frame about its pivots 11, 12. When the pin 50 is moved clear of the surface 53 (or 54) the control shaft 41 is released, permitting the clutch to be returned to neutral, in part by the reaction between the tapered driving teeth 38, and in part by a spring 63 surrounding an index lock pin 64, and through a plate 65 with outwardly extending tabs 69, 69a, to surfaces 66, 66a on the latch plate 42. The lower end of plate 65 has a flange 67 guided on a reduced end 68 of pin 64. In the neutral position the latch pin 50 rests in a rounded depression 70 in the cam plate 44, thus centring the control handle in the neutral position. The initial movement of the handle 47 takes up the lost motion in the pin-and-slot connection 43 and brings one of two rounded cam projections 71 under the latch pin, thus raising the pin to the level of surfaces 72 on the latch plate. Upon further turning of the handle the cam and latch plate move together until the latch pin snaps into one of the surfaces 53 or 54 to hold the clutch in engaged position. The plate 65 is simultaneously pressed downwards against the spring 63 by one of the surfaces 66 or 66a. On movement of the handle back toward neutral, one of the projections 71 lifts the latch pin clear of the surface 53 or 54 before the lost motion in the connection 43 is taken up. The wringer head is rotatably mounted by a tubular sleeve 73 over the upper end of a post 32, and located in desired angular position by means of a dome-shaped projection 76 cooperating with chamfered holes 77 in an index collar 78. A vertically slidable U-shaped plate 80 has its lower arm 81 hooked beneath the index collar and its upper arm engages a spring 82 around the index lock pin 64. The spring 82 partially counterbalances the overhung weight of the wringer frame, and serves with grease grooves 74 in the sleeve 73 to prevent binding on the post 32. An interlock to ensure that the wringer is always locked in index position when the rolls are being driven, is provided by the index lock pin 64 which registers with one of the holes 77 in each index position. In the driving position the plate 65 engages a shoulder 87 on the pin 64 and forces it down through the registering opening 77. The movement of the hold-down plate 80 is limited by a slot 88 through which a screw 89 extends so that it is impossible to put the wringer in driving condition unless the lock pin registers with one of the holes 77. When an operator pulls or pushes the wringer merely intending to stop the wringer drive, there would be a substantial tendency for the wringer to be moved out of its index position due to retraction of the index lock pin 64 by a spring 92. This is prevented by a blocking plate 93 (Fig. 12) slidably carried on the cover-plate 40. When the wringer is in neutral position, the upper end of pin 64 engages a tab 94 and forces the upper end of the blocking plate between the walls 61, 61a of the frame bracket 8. This prevents pivoting of the frame relative to the head. In the driving position the blocking plate 93 falls by gravity, though if it should stick it is forced down by engagement of the spring 92 with a tab 96. Upon operation of the safety release, by pushing or pulling the wringer, the bracket 8 moves over the top of the blocking plate and holds the index pin down, thereby preventing movement of the wringer from the index position.